KidsRights Index 2016: countries falling short on children’s rights

Amsterdam, June 13 2016 – KidsRights, the
international children’s rights foundation, in collaboration with Erasmus
University, has today published the KidsRights Index 2016. The Index is an annually
updated global ranking that charts the extent to which countries worldwide adhere
to and are equipped to improve the rights of children. This year’s list underlines
that, worldwide, countries are falling short on the implementation of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child.

KidsRights urges all 163 countries analysed in the
Index to increase efforts to combat discrimination against minority groups of
children and youth especially. Vulnerable and marginalised children, including refugee children,
migrant children, disabled children, street children and indigenous children,
are still widely discriminated against. Another area in need of improvement is the much needed cooperation
between the state and civil society, which is still underdeveloped in various countries. KidsRights
is especially alarmed by the increased threats posed to the safety of children’s
rights defenders, journalists and civil society activists. In too many
countries such practitioners are being harassed, threatened, abused or jailed.

Moreover, many
countries fail in facilitating true child participation. Marc Dullaert, founder
and chairman of the KidsRights Foundation, urges countries to do more in this
respect: “Not a single one of the 163 countries analysed in the Index achieved
the highest possible score on child participation. This means that the views of
the 2.2 billion children on this planet are not being heard adequately
regarding issues that affect them directly. KidsRights strongly urges all
countries to increase efforts to ensure that the views of children are properly
respected.”

Overall ranking

Norway is the Index’s number one for the second
year in a row. Runners up in 2016’s top ten are Portugal, Iceland, Spain,
Switzerland, Slovakia, Ireland, France, Finland and Tunisia. Switzerland and
Finland have replaced the Netherlands (now 13th) and Sweden (now 14th)
respectively in the top ten. Worst performing countries overall in this year’s
Index are Guinea, Angola, Lesotho, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Papua New
Guinea, Chad, Afghanistan, Central African Republic and Vanuatu.

Mexico (102
à
37), Jamaica (103 à 51) and Colombia (123 à 60) deserve honourable mentions for
having risen among the ranks significantly since last year’s Index. These
countries score relatively high as they have improved significantly in
fostering an enabling environment for children’s rights. All three countries
improved on the best budget available for realising children’s rights and on
adhering to the principle of best interests of the child. Brazil (43 à 107), the United Arab Emirates (39 à 78), the Dominican Republic (68 à 96) and Iraq (120 à 149) score remarkably poorly
compared to 2015 and are urged to do more to foster the rights of their
youngest generation.

Prosperity does not always
guarantee children’s rights

Interestingly,
economically better performing countries are not necessarily doing a better job
when it comes to safeguarding the rights of children. Italy (81st),
Canada (72nd) and Luxembourg (56th), for example, are
urged to improve the infrastructures they have built for children’s rights.
These wealthy countries are in a position to invest in children’s rights, but
fail to do so sufficiently. Tunisia (10th) and Thailand (21st)
on the other hand deserve honourable mentions in that respect. Their high
ranking in the Index relative to their economic status is to a large extent due
to good performances in cultivating an enabling environment for children’s
rights. Thailand for example scores well on their national legislation enabling
children’s rights.

The KidsRights Index: why it matters

The
Convention on the Rights of the Child is ratified by all of the world’s states
but one: the United States of America. The adoption of the Convention 26 years
ago marked a crucial step in improving children’s rights worldwide. However, there
is still a considerable gap between the good intentions of policymakers and the
actual effects policy has on the everyday lives of children. Take the UN
Sustainable Development Goals, for example. The UN General Assembly adopted the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015. They show yet more
concrete attention for the position of children than the earlier Millennium
Development Goals did. The scale and ambition of the SDG agenda present
unprecedented opportunities to truly improve the daily lives of children and
youths. Although the Index is not a direct tool for monitoring performances of individual
countries regarding the SDGs, it does provide crucial insights into what is
being done and where countries need to do better to guarantee children’s right

- End of press release -

About the KidsRights Index

The KidsRights Index is the annual global index
published by the KidsRights Foundation which charts how countries adhere to and
are equipped to improve children’s rights. The KidsRights Index is an
initiative of the KidsRights Foundation, in cooperation with Erasmus University Rotterdam: Erasmus School
of Economics and the International
Institute of Social Studies. It is a ranking of all states that have
ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for which sufficient data
is available, a total of 163 countries in 2016. The Index pools data from two
reputable sources: quantitative data published and regularly updated by UNICEF
at www.data.unicef.org and qualitative data published by the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child in its Concluding
Observations for all states that are legally bound by the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child.

About the KidsRights Foundation

KidsRights
is an international non-governmental organization that promotes the wellbeing
of very vulnerable children across the world and advocates the realisation of
their rights. KidsRights strives for a world where all children have access to
their rights and are enabled to realise the great potential they carry within
them. KidsRights sees children as
changemakers with the power to move the world, and facilitates in voicing
their opinions and taking action in order to bring about change.

KidsRights
supports children by commanding global attention for the realisation of children’s
rights and acting as a catalyst to ignite change, together with children and
youths. We support this with research and action. In order to gain insight into
the status of children’s rights, KidsRights frequently conducts research. The
foundation also finances local projects aimed at directly improving the rights
of vulnerable children and stimulating child participation and change-making by
youths. Please visit our website to find out more about KidsRights: http://www.kidsrights.org.